Oil field tank equipment



Jan- 26, 1937- J. M. THOMAS- 2,058,965

OIL FIELD TANK EQUIPMENT. 7

Original Filed Aug. 30, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ./d//73 M Tia/irks INVENTOR 4'13 ATTORNEY Jan. 26, 1937. J. M. THOMAS OIL FIELD TANK EQUIPMENT Original Filed Aug. 50, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jaw! 7Zv/wo'x INVENTOR 2/5: ATTORNEY 50 vacuum therein when oilis being withdrawn to the shape of the concave portion IQ of the 50 Patented Jan. 26, 1937 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE,

on. FIELD TANK EQUIPMENT James M. Thomas, Lefors, Tex., assignor to The v Texas Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation or Delaware Claims. (Cl. 220-456 This invention, a division oi. my copending ap- For a better understanding of my invention plication, Serial No. 630,998, filed August 30, 1932, reference may be had to the accompanying drawrelates to equipment for tanks used for storing ings, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of liquids such as oil, and more particularly to im-. an embodiment of my invention; 1a is an 5 provements in the thief or gauge hatches used elevation of the device as applied to a tank 5 when sampling or gauging the liquid contained having a sloping roof; Fig. 2 is a plan view 01' the in .the tank. a device as shown in Fig. 1 with parts of the pan Oilfield tanks are usually provided with at least broken away; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cover one opening, sometimes called a thief or gauge shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional ale-- 10. hatch, in the top or roof portion, this opening vation on line 4-4 of Fig. '3; Fig. 5 is a plan and being normally closed by' a suitable cover. Sam- Fig. 6 a sectional elevation of a simplified form ples of the oil may be taken out through this of my invention showing a circular cover for the opening and it is also customary to measure the hatch; Fig. 7 is asectional elevation of amodificaquantity ofoil in the tank through the use of tion; Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation looking from a gauge pole or gauge line either of which may the left in Fig. 7 while Fig. 9 is a view looking 1 be inserted and lowered into the tank through this downwardly through the housing of Fig. 7. opening.' It frequently happens that when the Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, I gauge pole or gauge line is withdrawn, oil will have shown a device embodying one form of my drip therefrom onto the top of the tank and un- .invent on attached to the roof of a tank I!) havless this oil is carefully wiped up the appearance ing a thief hole or opening ll. A housing mem- 20 of the tank will sufier and the fire hazard will her which may be formed of a short length of also be appreciably increased. Furthermore, it tubing and shown in this embodiment as recsometimes happens that small quantities of oil tangular in section is securely attached to thewill blow out of thehatch due to the turbulence tank III by any suitable means such as a clampin the oil when a well is flowing into the tank ing ring l3 and bolts H, the opening through the 25 and this oil will settle on thetank and so mar its member l2 being-in alignment with the thief hole appearance, or, if rags or waste are used to wipe II in the tank. A hinged cover I5 is mounted at up this oil, the rags may inadvertently be left the upper end of the housing I2 by means of a on or near the tank and will increase the danger pin or bolt I6 passing through an ear I1 which is of fire. formed integral with or attached to the housing. 9

It is the object of my invention to provide a v The cover I5 is normally held in its closed posidevice for stripping the oil from the gauge pole tion by gravity but may be raised to the posior gauge line andreturning this oil to the tank tion shown in Fig. 1 by pressing downwardly upon after the measurement has been taken, and also an extension 1 8 formed with the cover. The

to provide additional means for catching and recover I5 is rectangular in shape and slightly 35 turning to the tank any oil which would ordinarily larger than the top of the housing I! so that it collect on the tank near the hatch. Thus the will overlap the upper edge of the housing when appearance of the tank will be improved and the in the closed position. danger of fire resulting from oil or oily rags left The under side of the edge or periphery of the on the tank will be lessened. cover I5 is concave downwardly as shown more 40 In carrying out my invention I have provided clearly in Fig. 4, and the concave portion 19 is. a hatch including a member which surroundsthe' adapted to rest upon the upper edge of the housthiei or gauge hole and which houses a stripping ing 12. It, will thus be seen that assuming the device for removingoil from the gauge poleor coverl5 to be in its closed position, if oil congauge line, and. which further serves as a suptained in the tank II) should be blown out of the. 45 port for a pan for collecting and returning spilled housing l2, as might happen, for instance, when oil to the tank. A vacuum relief valve is also the tank In is being fill d directly from a pump embodied in the housing member to allow air to ing well, the oil will lift the cover l5 slightly I enter the tank to prevent the formation of a and will be turned or directed downwardly due.

f the tank. The cover'for the thiethole is cover. In order to catch this oil which will drip formed so as to direct small quantities of oil'which girom the edge of the cover l5 and also to promay be blown from-the tank downwardly into the :Yidg suppogt on whm measuring p l such collecting pan from which it may flow into the as the pole 10a or sampling instruments may be tank through asugitble penins; rested, Ihave provided a pan member 2| which 55 may be formed integral with or attached to the upper portion of the housing l2. Any oil which may drip from the cover i5 or from the measuring or sampling instruments .will be collected in the pan 2| and may flow back into the tank through a small opening normally closed by a suitable plug 2la. While the housing l2 has been shown as extending vertically from a horizontal roof l8, my invention is equally applicable to tanks-having sloping roofs. As shown in Fig. 1a the lower end of the housing l2 may be formed at an angle corresponding to the angle of slope of the roof so. that when installed the housing will project vertically from the roof. The pan 2| is especiallyadvantageous in the case of a sloping'roof since it affords a horizontal support for the instruments.

In order to prevent the forming of a vacuum within'the tank l8 when oil is drawn therefrom, I have provided a vacuum relief valve mounted in a chamber 22 formed in one side of the housing l2'. This valve comprises a valve head 28' and a stem 28, the stem being slidably mounted 7 a measurement of the, contents of the tank has been made, I have :provided a pair of cleaning brackets 21 and 28, the bracket 21 being pivoted at a point near its center to the housing l2 by means of a pin 28, and the bracket 28 being pivoted by means of a pin 88 to one end of a short rodor shaft 8|, the purpose ofwhich will be explained hereinafter. To the ends of thebrackets 21 and 28 are secured pairs of rubber wiping members 82 and 88, the rubbers 82 being aflixed to the upper ends while the rubbers 88 are amxed to the lower ends of the brackets. The upper end of each bracket 21 and 28 is V-shaped so that when the upper ends of both brackets are together, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the rubber wiping members 82will snugly surround thesquare gauge pole 28s. on the other hand, the lower ends of the brackets 21 and 28 are straight across so that if the lower ends of the brackets are'together, a gauge line, usually in the form of a flat tape, pulled between the rubbers 88, 38.

would be wiped or stripped clean of adheringoil. A spring 88 is moimted between the back side 7 of the upper end of the bracket 21 and the housing l2, this spring serving to bias the upper end of, the bracket toward the right, as shown in Fig. 1. The shaft8l is slidably mounted in the side of the housing l2 and at its outer end is attached by means of a pin and slot connection to an L-shaped lever 88 which is pivotally mounted on an extension 88 secured to the housing l2.

. A compression spring '81 encircles the shaft 8| between the housing and the lever 85 and serves to normally bias the entire bracket 28 toward the right, that is, with the back ofthe bracket against the inner side-of the housing l2. -A

spring 88 is mounted between the bracket 28 and the shaft 8| and serves to bias the upper end of the bracket 28 toward the left, as shown in Pig. 1.

with the brackets in open position, that is,

with the bracket 88 drawn to the right by means of the spring 81, a sampling device or a measuring device such as the pole 28a or a gauge line may be inserted downwardly intothe tank It through the housing l2 and a measure or sample of the oil may be taken in the usual manner. After the measurement has been taken and it is desired to clean the pole, the lever 85 is pressed downwardly thus compressing the spring 81 and forcing the bracket 28 to the left. The spring 88 will cause the upper end of the bracket 28 to engage the pole 28a and the wiping members 82 at the upper ends of both brackets will strip the adhering oil from the pole as the pole is pulled upwardly. If a gauge line is being used "instead of the pole 28a. the lever 88 is depressed to a greater'extent than in the case where a pole is being used and the entire bracket 28 will be moved toward the left, while the bracket 21 will move slightly counter-clockwise about its pivot 29. The rubber wiping members 88, 88 at the lower ends of the brackets 21 and 28 will thus be brought together and when the gauge.

line is pulled upwardly the members 88, 88 will strip and clean the oil therefrom. When substantially all of the gauge line has been pulled the housing l2 of Fig. 1 is replaced by a relatively short annular flange 88 secured to' the top of the tank l8 around the thief hole (not shown) in a similar manner to that used in attaching the housing l2 of Fig. 1 to the tank l8., Around cover 8| having an extension 82 .for use in openingthe hatch is pivotally mounted on the flange 88 and this cover 8| is likewise provided with a concave periphery 88 corresponding to the concave portion I! of the cover I801 Fig. 1. It is to be understood that the concave edge of the cover 8| will direct downwardly any oil tending to pass out of the flange 88 as-before described with reference to the embodiment shown in Fig. l. A collectingpan 88 is secured between the flange 88 and the top of the tank I8 and is arranged to surround the thief hole and its cover. The sampling or measuring instruments may rest within the pan 88 and any oil dripping therefrom will becaught by'the pan. Also, any oil dripping from the cover 8| will collect in the pan and may be returned to the tank through an opening 88 normallyclosed by a plug 88." In this embodiment no provision is made for cleaningthe gauge poles or lines.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9 I have illustrated a modified form of my invention. In this form the housing 88 which is secured to the top of the tank I8 is cylindrical in shape and likewise the cover 88 is circular so as to fit the upper end of the housing. In this embodiment theconstniction and use of the cover 88, the collecting pan 88 and the vacuum relief valve 8| are the same as that of the corresponding partsin the form illustrated in Figs. 1 through 4. However, the wiping or cleaning apparatus has been simplified and comprises a pair of brackets 82 and". the first of which is rigidly secured to the inner side of the housing 88 by means of a bolt 88 and a projecting lug 55 while the bracket 88 is attached to the upperendofabentrod".

one side of the housing 48, and to the outer end of the horizontal portion 51 is secured alever 59. Between the lever 59 and the bearing 58 a small compression spring 69 is provided in order to hold the rod 56 tightly against the inner side of the bearing so as to prevent loss of liquid or vapor through the bearing. A spring 6| is attached to the lever 59 and to the underside of the collecting pan 50 and normally pulls the lever 59 upwardly, thus holding the rod 56 in a position to the left of that shown in Fig. 7, i. e., with the bracket 53 retracted against the left hand inner side of the housing 48. The brackets 52 and 53 serve respectively to hold pieces of rubber or felt 62a and 6222 which form wiping members corresponding in'purpose to the members 32 and 33 of Fig. l. The brackets 52 and 53 and the wiping members 62a and 62?) are provided at one end with V-shaped portions 63 and at. the other end with straight edged portions 54.,

In using this form of my invention, if it is desired to clean a gauge pole 65, the pole is placed in the position shown resting within the V-shaped portion 53 of the wiping member 62a and the lever 59 is then depressed, moving the rod 56 and the bracket 53 into position with the V- shaped portion of the wiping member 62?) against 39 the other half of the pole 65. The pole may then be pulled upwardly and the wiping members 82a and 62b will strip from the pole any oil tending to adhere thereto. If a gauge line is being used instead of the pole 65, the operation will be the same except that the line will be placed between and pulled upwardly through or between the straight portions 64 of the wiping members 52a and 62b.

If it is desired to take a. sample from the tank, the bracket 53- and wiping member 62b will be allowed to remain in their open position and the sampling instrument may 'then be lowered and raised through the housing 48 between'the brackets 52 and 53.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the invention, as hereinbefore set forth, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed asare indicated in the ap- 50 pended'claims.

\ I claim:.

'1. A thief hatch for a liquid hdmmg tank, said tank having an opening in'itsroof through which measurements may be taken, comprising a tubu- 55 lar member secured to said tank in alignment with said opening, and a pan member secured to and horizontally surrounding said tubular member below the upper end of said tubular member,

said pan member being provided with an opening,-

60 in its bottom wall connecting with the interior of said tubular member, said pan member thus serving as a support for measuring instruments and also to collect and return to said tank waste liquid dripping from said instruments.

2. A thief hatch for a liquid holding tank, said tank having an opening in its roof through which measurements may be taken, comprising a tubular member secured to said tank in alignment with said opening and projecting vertically upward from said opening, and a pan member secured to and horizontally surrounding said tu- --bular member at a distance slightly below the upper end of said tubular member, said panmember being provided with an opening in its bottom wall connecting with the interior of said tubular member, said pan member thus serving as a support for measuring instruments and also for collecting and returning to said tank waste liquid dripping from said instruments.

' 3. -A thief hatch for a liquid holding tank, said tank being provided with an opening in its roof through which sampling and measuring instruments may be inserted into and removed from said tank comprising a flange surroundingthe upper edge of said opening, a cover member hingedlymounted on said flange, the underside of the edge of said cover being formed so as to directdownwardly liquid which may be blown. out of said opening, a pan member secured to said tank around said opening for collecting liquid dripping from said sampling and measuring in"- struments and from said cover, and means comprising an opening in the bottom of said pan member and leading to the interior of said tank for returning to said tank liquid collected in said pan.

4. A thief hatch for a liquid holding tank, said tank being provided with an. opening in its roof through which sampling and measuring instruments may be inserted into and removed from said tank, comprising a cover for-said opening a pan secured to saidtank around said opening for collecting liquid dripping from said sampling and measuring instruments, the underside of the edge of said cover being formed so as .to direct downwardly into said panliquid which may be blown out of said opening, and means comprising anopening in the bottom of said pan whereby said liquid maybe returned to the interior of said tankn' 5. In a thief hatch for a liquid holding tank, said tank being provided with an opening in its roof through which sampling and measuring instruments may be inserted intoand removed from said tank, a flange secured to said tank and-surrounding theupper edge of said opening, a cover member hingedly mounted on, said flange, the

periphery of said cover member normally over-' hanging the upper edge of said flange and being formed so as to direct-downwardly liquid which may be blown out of said opening and means for .collecting and returning to the interior or said tank the liquid so directed downwardly from said, cover member, said means comprising a pan member surrounding said flange and having it its bottom wall of said tank I,

' 'JAMES M. THOMAS. I

an opening leading to the interior 2 

